Souto de Moura wins 2019 BigMat Grand Prize for Architecture
The Power Plant for the “FOZ TUA” dam, completed in 2018 by Portuguese architect Eduardo Souto de Moura, follows in the footsteps of the FRAC Nord-Pas de Calais art center by Lacaton&Vassal, the office building by Alberto Campo Baeza and the kitchen tower by Xaveer De Geyter in scooping the Grand Prize for Architecture of the biannual award. The fourth edition of the BigMat International Architecture Award rewards European architecture with one Grand Prize (€30,000), six National Prizes (€5,000 each), seven Finalist Prizes (€1,500 each), and one Special Mention for Young Architects.
The awards ceremony took place on November 22nd, at the Palais de la Bourse in Bordeaux, France, in the presence of the architects competing for the Grand Prize, the members of the international panel of judges and the companies belonging to the BigMat Group. The 14 finalists were picked from an initial selection of 83 participating teams of architects published in July.
Out of a list of almost 600 projects from seven European countries (Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Italy, Slovakia, Portugal and Spain), the panel of judges chaired by Jesús Aparicio and comprising Stéphane Beel (Belgium), Petr Pelčak (Czech Republic + Slovakia), Philippe Prost (France), Paolo Zermani (Italy), Fuensanta Nieto (Portugal + Spain), and awards secretary Jesús Donaire, decided that the BigMat International Architecture Award’19 should go to the Power Plant for the “FOZ TUA” dam in Foz do Tua, by Portuguese architecture studio Souto Moura Arquitectos S.A.
The project conceived by the award-winning architect aims to eliminate any semblance of it being a ‘building’, reducing its appearance to that of a “machine” inserted into the landscape.” This operation spanned three phases and took place at three sites […]: 1. Design of a concrete platform, the “cover” for the shafts and the large atrium buried underground, to house a movable bridge, transformers and the first electricity pylon […]; 2. To ensure that the final form would be as “natural” as possible, concrete walls were not used and the rock was cut and fixed in place with pinnings at three-meter intervals and clad, for safety reasons, with almost imperceptible wire netting. […]; 3. The social building is located between the two cylinders of the servomotors and uses the platform as its roof. The entire construction will remain underground […]”
The winning projects are listed below:
BigMat International Architecture Award Grand Prize’19 (30,000 euros)
Power Plant for the “FOZ TUA” dam in Foz do Tua, Portugal, by Souto Moura Arquitectos S.A.
© Pietro Savorelli, Benedetta Gori, Damiano Verdiani, Ipostudio archieve
BigMat National Prize for Belgium’19 (5,000 euros)
Refuge II: Temporary House in Nevele, Belgium, by Wim Goes Architectuur BVBA
© Filip Dujardin
BigMat National Prize for the Czech Republic’19 (5,000 euros)
Kindergarten Nová Ruda in Liberec, Czech Republic, by PETR STOLÍN ARCHITEKT s.r.o.
© Alexandra Timpau, Tomáš Malý
BigMat National Prize for France’19 (5,000 euros)
The Chris Marker Student Residence in Paris, France, by Éric Lapierre Experience
© Filip Dujardin
BigMat National Prize for Italy’19 (5,000 euros)
Belvedere per una Persona in Rome, Italy, by Amanzio Farris Architetto
© Amanzio Farris
BigMat National Prize for Slovakia’19 (5,000 euros)
Adaptation of the former factory Mlynica in Bratislava, Slovakia, by gutgut, s.r.o.
© BoysPlayNice Photography & Concept (Jakub Skokan & Martin Tuma)
BigMat National Prize for Spain’19 (5,000 euros)
IMPLUVIUM community center in Reinosa, Spain, by RAW/deAbajoGarcia
© Montse Zamorano
BigMat Finalist Prize for Belgium’19 (1,500 euros)
Villers Abbey Visitor Centre at Villers-la-Ville, Belgium, by Binario architectes sciv sprl
© François Lichtlé
BigMat Finalist Prize for the Czech Republic’19 (1,500 euros)
BMX starting ramp in Praha, Czech Republic, by ARCHITEKT Ondřej Tuček
© Ondřej Tuček, Viktor Tuček
BigMat Finalist Prize for France’19 (1,500 euros)
BELLEVILLE in Paris, France, by SEPTEMBRE
© David Foessel
BigMat Finalist Prize for Italy’19 (1,500 euros)
Museo degli Innocenti in Florence, Italy, by Ipostudio Architetti
© Pietro Savorelli, Benedetta Gori, Damiano Verdiani, Ipostudio archieve
BigMat Finalist Prize for Portugal’19 (1,500 euros)
Pavilion House in Guimarães, Portugal, by Andreia Garcia Architectural Affairs and Diogo Aguiar Studio
© Fernando Guerra
BigMat Finalist Prize for Slovakia’19 (1,500 euros)
AnuAzu in Vojka nad Dunajom, Slovakia, by JRKVC s.r.o.
© Peter Jurkovič
BigMat Finalist Prize for Spain’19 (1,500 euros)
Renovation and extension of Ramos Carrión Theatre in Zamora, Spain, by MGM Arquitectos
© Jesús Granada and Hisao Suzuki
BigMat Special Mention for Young Architects’19
Balenmagazijn Gent in Ghent, Belgium, by TRANS architectuur stedenbouw
© Johnny Umans, Hannelore Veelaert, André Nullens
Visit our website to read more about the BigMat International Architecture Award’19 and the prize winners: www.architectureaward.bigmat.com
